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Geek Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Pacific Northwest tech pioneers team up in quantum realms and on the space frontier
At left: Microsoft's Majorana quantum chip. At right: Xplore's Xcraft satellite. (Credits: Microsoft / Xplore) BELLEVUE, Wash. — Quantum physics and outer space may seem as different as two tech frontiers can be, but the challenges facing Pacific Northwest ventures that are aiming to make their fortune on those frontiers are surprisingly similar. Amid the current turbulence on the national political scene, it's getting harder to capture the attention — and gain the support — of the federal government, which has historically been the leading funder of research and development. And that means it's more important than ever for researchers, industry leaders and local officials to join forces. 'Think of it as a triad,' said Jason Yager, executive director of the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance, which is one of the beneficiaries of a $41 million Tech Hub grant awarded by the federal government a year ago. 'If all of these pieces are working together, then where they meet is socio-economic growth, and then you're ready to bring in the additional funding to launch that.' Yager and other tech leaders from the northwest U.S. and western Canada compared notes today at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue during the Pacific Northwest Economic Region's annual summit. The topics covered at this week's sessions included AI and aviation — tech frontiers in which the Pacific Northwest has had a longstanding leadership role, thanks to the likes of Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon. In contrast, the frontiers of space commerce and quantum information sciences are far less settled. To be sure, there are grand aspirations. 'We like to say we're the Silicon Valley of space here in Puget Sound,' Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said last year at the opening of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite factory in Kirkland, Wash. And a couple of years ago, regional tech leaders said Washington state has a chance to create a 'Quantum Valley' modeled after Silicon Valley. But in both realms, other regions — ranging from California to Colorado to Chicago — are competing for attention. 'I'm tired of students getting admitted to Berkeley and University of Washington, and having them pick Berkeley,' said Charles Marcus, a UW professor who heads up a public-private consortium called the Northwest Quantum Nexus. 'I want them to pick University of Washington. I want to be better than Berkeley. That's going to take some concentration, but the rewards are big.' The quantum perspective One of the items on Marcus' to-do list is to get the Northwest Quantum Nexus' website back online. The Nexus was established back in 2019 by UW, Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to bring together researchers, developers and business leaders in the field of quantum computing. While classical computers process binary bits that can only represent ones or zeroes, quantum computers work with qubits that can represent multiple values simultaneously until the results are read out. The technique — which makes use of superconducting circuits or trapped ions — can theoretically execute certain types of algorithms much faster than classical techniques can. Researchers are closing in on the creation of quantum hardware that will be able to follow through on those theoretical promises. Last week, for example, a Danish consortium announced that it would host what it called the world's most powerful quantum computer by the end of next year, with Microsoft providing the software. Marcus and his colleagues acknowledge that they don't yet know exactly what quantum computers will be capable of. 'It's kinda like you're trying to predict what computers are going to do, pre-ENIAC, pre-vacuum tube, like getting into mechanical computers,' said John Gamble, senior director of architecture at IonQ. That company is headquartered in Maryland but opened a quantum computer factory in Bothell, Wash., last year. University of Washington Professor Charles Marcus stretches out his arm to make a point during a quantum tech forum at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region's annual summit. Other panelists include Jason Yager, executive director of the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance, to Marcus' left; Nardo Manaloto, managing partner at Qubit Ventures; John Gamble, senior director of architecture at IonQ; and Alison Berg, chief marketing officer at Photonic Inc. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) This type of quantum uncertainty can make it difficult to catch the attention of funders and investors. But the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance has been meeting with success by focusing on workforce development. Yager compared the strategy to what happened during the California Gold Rush in 1848. 'There were some miners who struck it rich and became millionaires,' he said. 'There were some who made a living. There were some who lost their shirts. But there were others who did really well, and those were the ones in the supply chain. We still see Wells Fargo today. There's Levi's being worn here in the room that came out of that gold rush, that supply chain.' Similarly, the skills required for quantum development can be applied to other tech fields. In Montana, the graduates of Gallatin College's photonics and laser technology program have gone on to successful careers in communications, defense, homeland security, medical devices and information technology. Looking more broadly at the quantum landscape, Yager said he was worried that America was falling behind other countries. 'We just don't have the political will at this time to compete,' he said. 'And I hate to say that, because that's historically not been the case for the United States. But with the National Quantum Initiative that funded, to date, $2.6 billion, and China at $138 billion — it's an order of magnitude.' Marcus is also worried about future funding. 'We've all heard the reports from the National Science Foundation. They are dire. They will be brain-draining,' he said. 'I assure you that scientists will be fine. They'll just be somewhere else.' He highlighted the need to upgrade academic facilities that focus on physics and materials science. 'The buildings are underfunded, and I don't have a clue about how to solve that problem,' Marcus said. 'But I leave it to the smart people in this room to think of a solution to keep the facilities at the universities in our region A-plus, because people will vote with their feet.' Which brings us back to the Northwest Quantum Nexus' website. When Marcus took on the lead role at the Nexus, he completely reworked its mission. 'The new director of it — who is me — flattened the organization and said the door is open. Come in and join,' he said. 'If you're from a state that is arguably not in the Pacific Northwest, or is, come on in. Be with us. If you're from a company that maybe doesn't have your headquarters in the Pacific Northwest, come on in. Be with us.' In the meantime, the Northwest Quantum Nexus' domain registration lapsed, and by the time Marcus was able to renew it, the website had been wiped clean. Now the site is being redesigned with financial support from the Washington Technology Industry Association. 'We're going to be offline for about a month … and then we're going to be great,' Marcus said. The space perspective The Pacific Northwest's space industry isn't facing quite as much uncertainty as the region's quantum community. For example, more than half of the world's satellites are built at SpaceX's facility in Redmond, Wash. And that's not all. Satellite factories operated in the Seattle area by Amazon's Project Kuiper, Aerojet Rocketdyne / L3Harris, LeoStella and Xplore add to the tally. Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, rates as the region's biggest space company — and there are scores of other Pacific Northwest space companies including Stoke Space, Starfish Space, Gravitics, Hubble Network, Interlune, Kymeta, New Frontier Aerospace, Radian Aerospace and RBC Signals. But when it comes to getting attention from the rest of the world, the Pacific Northwest has to fight for attention. 'There are two or three locations that get all the love from the leadership — local, state level, province level and at the federal level. That is L.A.; the greater Denver area in Colorado; and Washington, D.C.,' said Jeff Thornburg, CEO of Bothell, Wash.-based Portal Space Systems. 'I see an opportunity for the Pacific Northwest region to start to create that center of influence here that doesn't really quite exist yet.' Hector Huguet, director of strategic solutions at Redmond-based Kymeta, gestures during a space industry panel at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region's annual summit. Other panelists include Kristen Smithson, vice president for production and supply chain at BlackSky, which is based in Virginia but has a substantial Seattle-area presence; Lisa Rich, co-founder and chief operating officer at Bellevue-based Xplore; and Jeff Thornburg, CEO of Bothell-based Portal Space Systems. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) It's not just a matter of bragging rights: The Pacific Northwest's space ecosystem needs a critical mass to attract the officials who decide which companies receive billions of dollars in government contracts for space services. 'It's very difficult to get the U.S. political leadership out to Seattle to see all of the things that are going on, because typically they spend their travel time in D.C., Colorado and California,' Thornburg said. Lisa Rich, co-founder and chief operating officer for Bellevue-based Xplore, said other regions seem more willing to provide direct support to space startups. 'We have friends in Colorado that have startups where they've been given free rent for a year. … Effectively, my understanding is that they could have an employee for six months and have that funded,' she said. Michael Doyle, co-founder and president of Space Northwest, noted that some of the perks that other states can offer aren't allowed under Washington state law. 'That's why we seek other ways to do it,' he said. 'But it's not easy.' Space Northwest serves as an association for the Pacific Northwest's space industry, and there are other groupings as well. In 2023, the city of Redmond provided a spotlight for its space presence, including SpaceX's satellite operation, by establishing the 'Redmond Space District.' Now Rich is trying to create a similar grouping she calls the '405 Space Data Corridor' to bring attention to Xplore and other Eastside companies that specialize in satellite data products. 'It's so impactful to just see what's happening here, and that it's not just the big companies,' Rich said. 'There's a whole ecosystem of companies that are popping up around them. There have been engineers that have worked at those large companies and have seen an opportunity that they weren't able to get through, and they said, 'You know what? I'm going to start my own business.' And so, yes, we've seen that in L.A., and I think we're seeing it more and more in the Pacific Northwest.' Doyle is hopeful that the Pacific Northwest will get its turn in the space spotlight. 'I feel like the critical mass is coming together,' he said.
Daily Record
10-07-2025
- Daily Record
Bus crashes into trees as driver and passenger injured in Dundee incident
Emergency services were called to Dens Road in the city after the alarm was raised at around 3pm on Wednesday. A bus driver and passenger were left injured after the vehicle came off a road and crashed into trees in Dundee. Emergency services were called to Dens Road in the city after the alarm was raised at around 3pm on Wednesday. Ambulance crews attended and a 53-year-old man, the bus driver, was taken to Ninewells Hospital to be checked over. Police confirmed one passenger was also treated at the scene by medics. It's understood between 15 and 20 passengers were onboard at the time. Images taken from the scene showed the Xplore bus at a standstill after colliding with a tree. The area could be seen to be sealed off with a number of police vehicles in attendance. Xplore Dundee confirmed that one of its services was involved in the incident. The road was closed off for a number of hours and the circumstances surrounding the crash are 'still being assessed'. A spokesperson for Xplore Dundee said: 'We can confirm one of our buses was involved in an incident where the vehicle came off the road this afternoon. 'The details of the incident are still being assessed but we believe around 15 to 20 passengers were on board. It is believed one passenger reported a minor injury and who, along with the driver, is being looked after by medics.' A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Dens Road in Dundee has re-opened following a crash involving a bus reported to police around 3pm on Wednesday, 9 July, 2025. "Emergency services attended and a 53-year-old man, the bus driver, was taken to Ninewells Hospital to be checked over. "One passenger was treated at the scene by the Scottish Ambulance Service. There were no other reported injuries. "Road users are thanked for their patience." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Geek Wire
13-06-2025
- Science
- Geek Wire
Xplore reveals colorful hyperspectral views captured by its planet-watching satellite
An image from the XCUBE-1 satellite shows the Salt River in Arizona. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore has released the first hyperspectral images from its XCUBE-1 satellite, six months after the shoebox-sized spacecraft was sent into orbit. The pictures, captured with a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel, show a river in Arizona, rugged terrain in Saudi Arabia, farmland in Uzbekistan and a settlement in Inner Mongolia. Each image is color-coded to reflect wavelengths that go beyond what the eye can see. Such images can be used to assess agricultural crop health, moisture levels and other characteristics of a given terrain. Thermal infrared imagery could be used to track the spectral signatures of seagoing vessels or overland shipments as part of a campaign to crack down on illegal trafficking. For military applications, hyperspectral images could point to newly laid minefields or see through camouflage. And for space applications, Xplore's multi-sensor imaging system could be turned spaceward to track other satellites. 'Xplore is focused on providing high-quality data products for our customers and partners,' Jeff Rich, co-founder and CEO of Xplore, said today in a news release. 'Our imagery is outperforming expectations, and its exceptional quality stems from the sophisticated ground calibration of our instruments and data processing pipeline. We expect demand for high-quality hyperspectral imagery to expand rapidly in multiple domains.' Hyperspectral satellite image of An Nabhaniyah, Saudi Arabia. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Hyperspectral satellite image of farmland in Uzbekistan. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Hyperspectral satellite image of Inner Mongolia, China. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Two years ago, Xplore won a study contract from the National Reconnaissance Office to look into potential applications for hyperspectral imaging. Last December, XCUBE-1 was launched into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-2 satellite rideshare mission. Xplore says it's sharing its initial data and exploring use cases with key customers and partners. The company plans to send future satellite platforms into Earth orbit and to other destinations to execute on its 'Space as a Service' business model. 'We're thrilled with Xplore's progress and are thankful for our talented team and partners,' Xplore co-founder and chief operating officer Lisa Rich said. 'Their hard work and dedication are clearly reflected in the outstanding imagery we're producing. We now invite customers to request data samples to assess our data for their programs and projects. The use of these data products will be crucial to produce insights, perform change detection and identify anomalies that are critical to our customers' applications.'
Geek Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Xplore unveils colorful hyperspectral views captured by its planet-watching satellite
An image from the XCUBE-1 satellite shows the Salt River in Arizona. ©2025 Xplore Inc. All rights reserved. Bellevue, Wash.-based Xplore has released the first hyperspectral images from its XCUBE-1 satellite, six months after the shoebox-sized spacecraft was sent into orbit. The pictures, captured with a resolution of 5 meters (16 feet) per pixel, show a river in Arizona, rugged terrain in Saudi Arabia, farmland in Uzbekistan and a settlement in Inner Mongolia — with each image color-coded to reflect wavelengths that go beyond what the eye can see. Such images can be used to assess agricultural crop health, moisture levels and other characteristics of a given terrain. Thermal infrared imagery could be used to track the spectral signatures of seagoing vessels or overland shipments as part of a campaign to crack down on illegal trafficking. For military applications, hyperspectral images could point to newly laid minefields or see through camouflage. And for space applications, Xplore's multi-sensor imaging system could be turned to track other satellites 'Xplore is focused on providing high-quality data products for our customers and partners,' Jeff Rich, co-founder and CEO of Xplore, said today in a news release. 'Our imagery is outperforming expectations, and its exceptional quality stems from the sophisticated ground calibration of our instruments and data processing pipeline. We expect demand for high-quality hyperspectral imagery to expand rapidly in multiple domains.' Two years ago, Xplore won a study contract from the National Reconnaissance Office to look into potential applications for hyperspectral imaging. Last December, XCUBE-1 was launched into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-2 satellite rideshare mission. Xplore says it's been sharing its initial data and exploring use cases with key customers and partners. The company plans to send future satellite platforms into Earth orbit and to other destinations to execute on its 'Space as a Service' business model. 'We're thrilled with Xplore's progress and are thankful for our talented team and partners,' Xplore co-founder and chief operating officer Lisa Rich said. 'Their hard work and dedication are clearly reflected in the outstanding imagery we're producing. We now invite customers to request data samples to assess our data for their programs and projects. The use of these data products will be crucial to produce insights, perform change detection and identify anomalies that are critical to our customers' applications.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Xplore Announces Finalization of $375 Million in Financing Commitments to Expand Fibre Broadband Access in Rural Canada
Canadian Infrastructure Bank and other investors to provide funding for completion of upcoming fibre builds MARKHAM, ON, June 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Xplore Inc., the leading provider of Internet services to Canadians in rural communities, announced today that it has now finalized an aggregate of $375 million in previously announced financing commitments from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to support increased broadband access for rural and remote communities. The CIB financing – combined with contribution agreements from federal and provincial governments and private investment from Stonepeak (Xplore's controlling shareholder) and other institutional investors – means that Xplore has finalized all funding required to complete its upcoming fibre builds. Xplore's next-generation fibre Internet service will be available across Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. "This represents an important milestone – both for Xplore and for people in rural communities across Canada," said Geoff Lowe, President and Chief Financial Officer of Xplore Inc. "We're excited to be partnering with CIB to help bring fast, reliable fibre Internet service to underserved communities across the country." The Canada Infrastructure Bank uses flexible financing solutions to bring private investment to projects aimed at driving economic growth, connecting communities, or building energy, security and competitiveness. About Xplore Inc. Founded in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Xplore Inc. is Canada's fibre, 5G and satellite broadband company for rural living. Xplore is committed to the relentless pursuit of an improved broadband experience for all Canadians. Xplore is building world-class fibre and 5G wireless networks to enable innovative broadband services for better every day rural living, for today and future generations. SOURCE Xplore Inc. View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
